During their talks on the sidelines of the G7 Agriculture Ministerial Meeting in Bergamo, Perdue and Graziano da Silva also called for special attention to be given to meat and fish products in the framework of the Codex alimentarius international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice that serve to contribute to the safety, quality and fairness in the context of international food trade.

The US Secretary of Agriculture emphasized that Codex standards should be seen as “pro trade” and not be considered as an obstacle to trade.

For his part, the FAO Director-General informed the US Secretary of Agriculture about plans to hold the first International Conference on Food Safety to raise awareness and to address issues related to this crucial aspect of international trade.

During today’s talks, Perdue and Graziano da Silva expressed agreement on various issues to be tackled globally including implementing the One Health approach and curbing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), including by ensuring the use of antibiotics for curative purposes only in agriculture.

On Monday 16 October, Secretary of Agriculture Perdue will join several other G7 agriculture ministers for World Food Day celebrations at FAO in Rome in a ceremony in which Pope Francis will deliver the keynote speech.